[font=Verdana]Really happy that Esquer is National Coach of The Year. He deserved it....For a bunch of reasons.

1. When the program was told last fall that they were being eliminated...he kept his head held high, focused the team, kept the practices in high gear...all the while helping the Sophs and Freshman look for other teams to play on the next year...In other words, he went way beyond his duties as a coach...He has a players first mentality...and that is a great coaching trait.

2. He kept his cool during the entire media frenzy surrounding this ordeal..He could have really blasted the administration and gotten extremely bitter. Instead...it was all baseball, all the time...Could you imagine a Pat Murphy under these conditions? Those interviews would have been just one big BLEEP. Esquer took the high ground...Great job.

3.He kept a consistent line-up throughout the season preparing his veteran players for the post-season. Because of the bats or off-field distractions or both, a couple of his stalwart players struggled early on, but he stayed with them, didn't juggle the line-up and they worked it out. Now those players are huge contributers and are responsible for where they are today.

4. Esquer put together a strong supporting staff this year. Another sign of a great coach is surrounding themselves with assistants that can compliment and execute their vision. Esquers assistants are strong..He did a good job this year with assembling a group with strong core competencies.

5. They won when they were supposed too and were extremely competitive when they weren't...The players have a never say die attitude and that comes from the top.